bean boy
Veteran Member
I wish I'd found this about 10 pages ago. I come from the Harvard Greencampus site.
Report on Fuel Types
August 13, 2001
Abstract: This report describes the current alternative fuel technologies and their impacts on global warming and urban air quality.
Authored by the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Program
Sponsored by HGCI, UOS, Ford Motor Company, and Harvard University
AFVP Phone: 617 384 7899
AFVP Website: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/ dthonips/afv
1. Renewable vs. Non renewable Fuels
Fuels come from a variety of sources. Some fuels, like those that derive their energy from the sun, are called sustainable or renewable because the sun is guaranteed to shine for billions of years to come. Others, such as gasoline, depend on a limited supply of fossil fuel deposits that can be depleted and lost forever.
The chief non renewable fuels are so called fossil fuels. These include:
1. Gasoline
2. Diesel
3. Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)
4. Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG)
5. Methanol
6. Electricity (produced from non renewable sources)
Another non renewable fuel is nuclear power which depends on a limited supply of radioactive materials within the earth.
The energy for all renewable fuels comes from two sources. The most well known of these is the sun which powers photovoltaic power cells (solar power), grows plants (biomass), whips up the wind (wind power) and powers the rivers (hydro power). The less well known source of renewable energy is geothermal. This uses the heat from the core of the earth to power electric power plants. This source is renewable in the sense that once the heat is depleted from one area under the ear&s surface, the earth's core will reheat that region making it available for future generations. A list of renewable fuels is as follows:
1. Biodiesel (from soybeans)
2. Ethanol (from com)
3. Electricity (from renewable sources)
Greenhouse gases (GHG), such as carbon dioxide, absorb very little visible light, but readily absorb infrared light. As the visible light rays from the sun travel towards earth, they travel unimpeded through the atmosphere. However, much of this light is converted into infrared light when it reflects off the surface of the earth. Instead of escaping back out into space, this infrared light is absorbed by the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and turns into heat. Due to human activity, concentrations of atmospheric C02 have increased from a pre industrial value of 280 ppm to 367 ppm, about 60 ppm higher than the concentrations Of C02 have ever been over the past 400,000 years.
Renewable ftiels, if produced with only renewable energy, emit zero greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. This must be the final objective of all our energy gathering practices if we wish to avoid ftirther global warming.
11. Fuel Types
In the table below, we give the emission characteristics of various fuels as compared to diesel. The numbers in the table reflect the percent difference for a vehicle travelling for a mile on that fuel as compared to a comparable vehicle travelling for a mile on diesel. The emissions are calculated using the Argonne National Laboratory's GREET Model version 1.5a. This calculates the emissions of various gases for the entire fuel cycle. This includes the gathering of feedstock, fuel production, and tailpipe emissions. This type of complete analysis is often referred to as a well to wheel or fuel cycle analysis.
While a rough comparison of fuel types can be made, it is important to realize that these numbers can vary significantly from vehicle to vehicle. Therefore, any such numbers must be treated as a rough indication of a fuel's emissions. For this reason, all numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5%. The fuels are ranked in order of most to least greenhouse gas emissions the emissions that cause global warming. The electric category is for a battery powered vehicle running off of the New England power grid. The hybrid is a diesel/electric hybrid.
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Please make me stop!!!!!!!!!!! /images/graemlins/crazy.gif
Report on Fuel Types
August 13, 2001
Abstract: This report describes the current alternative fuel technologies and their impacts on global warming and urban air quality.
Authored by the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Program
Sponsored by HGCI, UOS, Ford Motor Company, and Harvard University
AFVP Phone: 617 384 7899
AFVP Website: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/ dthonips/afv
1. Renewable vs. Non renewable Fuels
Fuels come from a variety of sources. Some fuels, like those that derive their energy from the sun, are called sustainable or renewable because the sun is guaranteed to shine for billions of years to come. Others, such as gasoline, depend on a limited supply of fossil fuel deposits that can be depleted and lost forever.
The chief non renewable fuels are so called fossil fuels. These include:
1. Gasoline
2. Diesel
3. Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)
4. Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG)
5. Methanol
6. Electricity (produced from non renewable sources)
Another non renewable fuel is nuclear power which depends on a limited supply of radioactive materials within the earth.
The energy for all renewable fuels comes from two sources. The most well known of these is the sun which powers photovoltaic power cells (solar power), grows plants (biomass), whips up the wind (wind power) and powers the rivers (hydro power). The less well known source of renewable energy is geothermal. This uses the heat from the core of the earth to power electric power plants. This source is renewable in the sense that once the heat is depleted from one area under the ear&s surface, the earth's core will reheat that region making it available for future generations. A list of renewable fuels is as follows:
1. Biodiesel (from soybeans)
2. Ethanol (from com)
3. Electricity (from renewable sources)
Greenhouse gases (GHG), such as carbon dioxide, absorb very little visible light, but readily absorb infrared light. As the visible light rays from the sun travel towards earth, they travel unimpeded through the atmosphere. However, much of this light is converted into infrared light when it reflects off the surface of the earth. Instead of escaping back out into space, this infrared light is absorbed by the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and turns into heat. Due to human activity, concentrations of atmospheric C02 have increased from a pre industrial value of 280 ppm to 367 ppm, about 60 ppm higher than the concentrations Of C02 have ever been over the past 400,000 years.
Renewable ftiels, if produced with only renewable energy, emit zero greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. This must be the final objective of all our energy gathering practices if we wish to avoid ftirther global warming.
11. Fuel Types
In the table below, we give the emission characteristics of various fuels as compared to diesel. The numbers in the table reflect the percent difference for a vehicle travelling for a mile on that fuel as compared to a comparable vehicle travelling for a mile on diesel. The emissions are calculated using the Argonne National Laboratory's GREET Model version 1.5a. This calculates the emissions of various gases for the entire fuel cycle. This includes the gathering of feedstock, fuel production, and tailpipe emissions. This type of complete analysis is often referred to as a well to wheel or fuel cycle analysis.
While a rough comparison of fuel types can be made, it is important to realize that these numbers can vary significantly from vehicle to vehicle. Therefore, any such numbers must be treated as a rough indication of a fuel's emissions. For this reason, all numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5%. The fuels are ranked in order of most to least greenhouse gas emissions the emissions that cause global warming. The electric category is for a battery powered vehicle running off of the New England power grid. The hybrid is a diesel/electric hybrid.
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Please make me stop!!!!!!!!!!! /images/graemlins/crazy.gif